Ethereum documentary featuring Vitalik Buterin raises $1.9 Million Via NFTs on Mirror.
A production firm named Optimist has raised 1,035.97 ETH for a documentary about Ethereum's development, which is approximately $1.9 million at the moment.
“Ethereum: The Infinite Garden,” according to the creators, will include interviews with Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum creator, and Aya Miyaguchi, the Ethereum Foundation's executive director.
The film was financed with NFTs on Mirror, a cryptocurrency-backed blogging network. It's a twist on the "tiered" rewards model popularised by crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Patreon: the more you pay, the better your reward when the film is released.
The rewards in this case are crypto collectibles of various rarities, including cartoons by crypto-friendly digital artist Pplpleasr, with sound by ambient musician Past Palms.
For every 1 ETH donated, backers will receive 1,000 $INFINITE tokens, which will grant them access to a secret Discord server. The tokens follow the ERC-20 standard, making them interoperable with the rest of the Ethereum blockchain and potentially generating a secondary market, however Optimist has stated that “$INFINITE tokens should only be used to access the Discord private chat.”
"We strongly advise against reselling or trading this token," the statement continues.
Mirror, a16z alum Denis Nazarov's firm, was supposed to be a Web 3.0 counterpart of Medium or Substack, but its financing mechanisms have garnered more attention. Kyle Chayka, a New Yorker columnist, utilised NFTs to fund a newsletter, and Emily Segal, a writer, used Mirror to sell tokens related to a planned novel.
The catch is that Mirror isn't like Kickstarter at all, because the money you send it is routed through the Ethereum blockchain, which means there's no assurance you'll get your money back if a project isn't fully financed. It's also exclusive: only ten new users are invited to join each week after a public vote (with certain voters having more clout than others), so while anybody can donate money, only a select few can raise it.
The blockchain aspect also has a large energy cost, which has an influence on the environment. Optimist has donated 20.72 ETH to carbonfund.org, a website that helps people buy carbon offsets.
